Original Research Article

Increased Serum Levels of Growth Hormone in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Ümran Toru Erbay^1*, Ceylan Ayada², Ali Nihat Annakkaya³

¹Kütahya Health Sciences University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Chest Diseases, Kütahya, Turkey
²İzmir Bakırçay University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, İzmir, Turkey
³DüzceUniversity, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Chest Diseases, Düzce, Turkey

*Corresponding Author's E-mail: umran_toru_81@hotmail.com

Received: 24 October 2022  I  Accepted: 26 November 2022  I  Published: 30 November 2022  I  Article ID: MRJMMS22070
Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction which occurs during sleep and usually associated with a reduction in oxygen saturation, and it is one of the common health problems with significant mortality and morbidity. It is very well-known that OSAS alters the serum levels of several hormones by the effect of hypoxia on central neurotransmitters that causes changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in relation with sleep fragmentation. Growth hormone secretion (GH) is affected by several factors such as age, sex, obesity, body composition and sleep quality. Also, the oxygen content of the inhaled air affects the secretion of GH. On the other hand, intermittent hypoxemia increases GH secretion. In this study, we aimed to examine the serum level of GH in patients with OSAS.

Keywords: Apnea, Growth hormone, Hypopnea, Hypoxia, Obstructive sleep apnea, Obesity